I received not one but two emails from my cousin (and Project:Women contributor) Kristin Tona about Ronda Rousey, a young woman who is shaking up–or more accurately, knocking out– the UFC world of fighting. I will let Kristin fill you in, she does it with such gusto!!

“I love that it talks in the beginning about how the President of the UFC joked that women will never be in the UFC. But now here he is.. watching her becoming the most popular fighter this company has ever seen. And one of the best and most inspiring athletes they have ever seen. In the video she talks about how only going home with the bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics is her driving force to be the best. She says she wouldn’t be as determined if she had taken the gold.

She is the most inspiring athlete!! She just won her 12th fight. And she is undefeated. The fight was incredible! She is today’s Muhammed Ali. So. Amazing. She doesn’t trash talk. She’s humble. I love her.” -Kristin

Kristin sent me this and it’s absolutely lovely, both the article and the video. If you know anyone pregnant, this is one to share. I had to include Kristin’s commentary on this.. (she has two little ones, her boy Richie is the elder of the two):

“This is so good!!! I just need you to know that Richie and Lola watched this with me and when the baby was coming out Richie goes, “Wait. What? What’s happening? Oh wow! It’s a baby!” Then he went and hugged Lola. It was a moment I’ll always remember! So sweet!!” –Kristin

From the article: “Women are consistently portrayed as being afraid of the pain of childbirth, and if they aren’t, they are reminded that they should be.”

This little gem just put a huge smile on my face. I think Jamie Bullock and I do a bit of what might be considered “procrastination talk” at the start of our weekly Project:Women meetings, but ultimately it gets our gears going and makes our conversations much more productive. And fun. Like, way more fun. Love you Jamie, thanks for sharing this!! (Now we must introduce dancing AND singing to our meetings!)

“Dancing helps in general,” Glazer told Fast Company. “I feel like we should more regularly use that as a tool. That video is like, it was helpful for us to do that.”

This past weekend I had one of my cousins ask me if I was considering homeschooling my daughter. I laughed and said, “No, we’re just going to do the ‘no-schooling’ thing instead”. I was joking around, but my cousin thought I was serious, referring to the Unschooling Movement. I had never heard of this before, but as soon as she started talking about it I got interested. This is one of the first articles I read, and although the “method” (or rather, non-method) is controversial and unusual, it’s definitely thought-provoking.

“Unschooling isn’t a method, it is a way of looking at children and at life. It is based on trust that parents and children will find the paths that work best for them – without depending on educational institutions, publishing companies, or experts to tell them what to do.”

Ride.

A new feature film written, directed, and starring Helen Hunt. Now added to my list of “movies I absolutely want to watch.” It’s just SO refreshing, and even thrilling, to see this vanguard of Grown Women coming to the fore in hollywood.

Speaking of Grown Women, Monica Bellucci will be the first ever “Bond Lady” to grace the silver screen. As James Bond would say, “Shocking. Positively shocking!”

“According to reports, Bellucci was shocked when she was offered the role. “My first thought was, ‘How can I be a Bond girl at 50?’” Bellucci recalled. “I just blurted out, ‘I’m not a girl, I’m a woman, I’m a mature woman. Do I have to replace Judi Dench?’”

I’ll See You In My Dreams

There’s a trend happening! Indeed, ladies of an older Hollywood generation are definitely bringing their presence to the front lines. This lovely film, which stars beautiful Blythe Danner, was written and directed by a mutual friend of Jamie B’s and mine, the incredibly talented Brett Haley. I just think it’s so magnificent that he co-wrote a screenplay which features a much older cast. It’s a rather bold move in today’s cinematic world, and one that deserves every ounce of praise it has received.

The soundtrack to this film was written and performed by Keegan Dewitt, of the band Wild Cub (co-founded by Jamie’s brother Jeremy), and it’s just as lovely as the film itself. Take a listen here.

A perfectly lovely blog. One of those rare ones which makes me feel so cozy when I visit it. It’s like a very quiet place.. calm, comforting, and absolutely real. Filled with lovely photos, it’s a little bit about motherhood, a little bit about creating, and a lot about life.

This is a video of my friend Lauren Lege performing her cover of The National – Pink Rabbits. I think she is a young woman of absolutely immense talent. ❤